More Than Just Friends: Dinner
by Lissical
Summary: C.J. and Sam's friendship could turn into something more.


C.J. sat at her desk, reviewing what she had to do for her morning briefing. She heard someone knock at the closed door.  
  
"Come in," she said, without looking up from her work.  
  
"Hey, C.J.," Sam said as he entered her office. "How are you doing?" He asked.  
  
"I'm doing fine," she said, still not looking up from what she was reading. "Did you want something, Sam?"  
  
"I wanted to ask you a question." He asked, walking towards her desk.  
  
"What?" She asked, still not looking up.  
  
"How would you like to go out to dinner tomorrow evening?"   
  
Her head shot up so quickly that she became a little dizzy. "What?" She asked, nearly in shock.  
  
Over the past few weeks, ever since the events that occurred with Sam's father, C.J. and Sam had become very close friends. However, they had never gone out on an actual date before.  
  
"Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?" Sam asked pensively.  
  
C.J. just stared at Sam, and finally, after a minute or two, she answered, "Yeah, I'd like that." She answered in a flattered tone. C.J. had always liked Sam as a friend, but lately, they had been getting closer.   
  
"Great," Sam said with a broad smile on his face. "Why don't I pick you up around 6:30?" He was now more confident than he was two minutes ago. Maybe it was because she gave him the answer he wanted to hear.  
  
"6:30 sounds fine to me. Where are we going?"   
  
"Oh, you'll see," Sam said mysteriously with a wry smile on his face. "I think you'll like it." And with that, he walked out of her office, looking at C.J. the entire time. Unfortunately, since he was looking at C.J., he walked into the door. This made C.J. laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes.  
  
"Oh, so you think this is funny?" Sam asked, jokingly.  
  
"Yes, I do." She said, trying to regain her normal self. "I'll see you later, Spanky." She said as she sat back down. Sam exited, this time not banging into anything.  
  
The next evening, C.J. sat at the window of her apartment building, waiting for Sam to arrive. At exactly 6:30, she saw his car pull up in front of her building. She went downstairs, and out to Sam's car.  
  
"Have you ever *not* been punctual?" She asked as she got into the car.  
  
"Nope. I am usually early, in fact," he said as he pulled back into the traffic. "I just wanted to give you time to, uh, get ready."  
  
"Okay," she said, trying not to laugh at how geeky Sam really was.   
  
Sam had taken C.J. to her favorite Italian restaurant in the city. "So, Sam, how are things going between you and your father? I mean, have you talked to him since that phone call, or since your e-mail?" She hoped she had not asked something that was going to put him in a bad mood.  
  
"Actually, I have talked to him a couple of times since the e-mail. I think that someday I will be able to forgive him. I just don't know when, and he knows that. But we have gotten to talking again." He knew how concerned C.J. really was about him. She had been so sweet to him that night he called his father.  
  
"That's good. At least you're making progress. I hope things continue to get better between the two of you." He smiled at her, so she went on to ask, "So, how is your mother doing?"  
  
He gave no answer at first. He began to examine the pattern that was on the tablecloth.   
  
"Sam?" C.J. said, this time getting his attention.  
  
"Huh?" he asked, snapping back into reality. "I'm sorry, C.J., what did you say?" He asked in an apologetic manner.  
  
"I was just wondering how your mother was doing, you know after she found out what happened with--" Sam looked at her, knowing what the question was. He just had to make sure he would be able to tell her without getting his mother's sad voice in his head after she had told him.  
  
"She's, uh, doing alright, I guess. I mean, she feels betrayed, obviously, but she's doing better than I thought she would be doing. She has my sister there to help her get through this whole mess." He looked down at his plate, afraid to tell her the whole truth. 'This is C.J. I know I can trust her.' She looked at him and saw that he wasn't telling the whole truth. "Okay," he began again, "my mother suffers from depression, so she gets these mood swings and, well, it's just been really difficult for her and I feel really bad that I haven't been there for her when I feel I should have been."  
  
She looked at him and put her hand on his and said, "Sam, you didn't have to hide that from me. I would have understood. I do understand. You can tell me anything, you do know that, don't you?" Sam nodded slowly. "Good. I just have to ask, why did you keep this from me when you first told me about your dad?"  
  
He took a deep breath, "I didn't think you would understand. I know it sounds crazy, but at the time, I was just so angry about everything, that all I told you was everything I was mad about. I thought that telling you about my mother, especially at a time like that-" he could tell he was beginning to get choked up. C.J. sensed that too because before he knew it, she was holding his hand.  
  
"It's okay Sam. I was just wondering. You didn't have to tell me anything that you felt uncomfortable me about." She had a sympathetic smile on her face. "Are you ready to go?" He nodded and signaled for the waiter to bring them the check.  
  
As Sam and C.J. left the restaurant and started walking to Sam's car, Sam found himself putting his arm around her shoulders. He almost put his arm down, but decided to keep it where it was. It just felt right.  
  
C.J. found herself putting her arm around Sam's back. She almost put her arm down as well, but it too, felt right.  
  
The drive back to C.J.'s apartment was silent for the most part. Each was thinking about the fact that there was more to their relationship than just friendship.   
  
When they arrived at her apartment, before exiting the car, C.J. gazed into Sam's eyes, "I had a wonderful time tonight," she said softly. "And feel free to talk or call me anytime you need to."  
  
Sam too, was looking into C.J.'s eyes. "Thanks. I will. And C.J.? Thanks for being there that night and tonight." He said, a soft smile coming to his face.  
  
The two looked in each other's eyes for a few more minutes.  
  
The next thing they knew, their lips came close together and touched. They kissed just for a second before they pulled away. They were speechless. All they did was gaze into the other's eyes.  
  
After a few minutes, C.J. began to exit the car. "Thank you Sam, for a truly wonderful evening." She was about to fully exit the car when Sam took C.J.'s hand and kissed it.  
  
"I want to also thank you for very pleasant evening." The two smiled at each other. "Goodnight C.J.," he said after he kissed her hand once more.  
  
"Goodnight, Sam, and thank you again." She closed the door and began walking up front steps of her building. She watched as Sam drove away, and knew that the two were becoming more than just friends. She smiled at that thought and entered her apartment, knowing that Sam was thinking the same thing. 


End file.
